Media Giants Rev Up Streaming Services to Compete With Netflix - Cynthia Littleton at Variety has an article out called "How Hollywood Is Racing to Catch Up With Netflix"- "Netflix’s meteoric rise is all that media moguls could talk about last month during their annual conclave at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho."- Direct-to-consumer is:- Why Disney wants Fox- Why AT&T wanted Time Warner- Bob Iger called the planned launch of a suite of DTC services “the biggest priority of the company during calendar [year] 2019.”- Have to invest in high-end content and give up licensing revenue (like the $300 mm Disney gets from Netflix)- Puts downward pressure on carriage fees- Invest in infrastructure (Why Diseny bought controlling interest in BAM)- Challenge is to make DTC services as compelling as Netflix without undermining existing cable channels too much- There are more of these than you realize- Warner's DramaFever (Korean films and TV show)- CBS All Access- Showtime- HBO Now- NBC Sports Gold (Soccer, cycling, rugby etc.)- Starz- Disney Play (2019)- Warner's FilmStruck- Noggin- Lionsgate's Laught Out Loud curated by Kevin Hart- ESPN+- DC Universe (This fall)- Fox nation (Extra Fox News programming)

How to Watch

Netflix tests a bypass of iTunes billing in 33 markets- Netflix told TechCrunch it is “testing the iTunes payment method” in 33 countries. Specifically, until September 30, some new or lapsed subscribers in selected markets across Europe, Latin America and Asia will be directed to the Netflix's website to renew their subscription, rather than renew it through iTunes. The test started with 10 countries in June, then expanded to 33 August 2 and plans to run that test until September 30. Back in May, Netflix stopped taking payments through Google Play.

Apple confirms TV series order of Asimov’s Foundation- Ars Technica has confirmed that Apple ordered TV series based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. David Goyer (screenwriter for The Dark Knight and Batman Begins) and Josh Friedman (creator of the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) will be the show runners and EPs. Isaac Asimov's daughter, Robyn Asimov, will also executive produce. The series will be produced for Apple by Skydance Television.

Netflix signs Tiffany Haddish for a stand-up special- Netflix announced Tiffany Haddish will record an hour-long comedy special for them. Add her to the list of Netflix comedy stars that also include Ellen Degeneres, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld. Tiffany Haddish's special will come to Netflix later next year.

The Final Season of Game of Thrones Might Not Air Until Summer 2019- Game of Thrones visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer told the Huffington Post, “In two years we’ll be eligible for the Season 8 work, which we’re just beginning now.” For a show to be eligible for the upcoming year’s Emmys, it has to air the majority of its episodes by May 31st. So, if Game of Thrones won’t be eligible until 2020, that means it won’t be airing most of its six episodes until after May 31st.

MoviePass refunds annual subscribers as it further restricts member benefits- MoviePass sent an email to members with annual subscriptions last week that said on second though they wouldn't be waiting until annual subscribers come up for renewal to change the terms of their service. So just like monthly subscribers, annual subscribers, whether they want to or not, can only see three movies every 30 days. MoviePass only offered yearly subscriptions for a limited time 9 months ago. MoviePass is giving annual members one week, until August 31st, to either cancel their plan or accept the new monthly subscription and conditions.

Do you guys have any thoughts on which over-the-top service (especially thinking Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation View) has the best DVR functionality. Coming from a Tivo, the DirecTV Now one has been painful. The load times every time I skip forward or back is way too long, and there's no visual cues on if you've gotten to the point you want to reach. And that's only on the Roku - on the AppleTV I haven't even figured out how to do this! I don't want to stay with cable, but if this is the average over-the-top DVR experience, I'm not sure it's worth the cost savings, especially for watching sports. Any idea if the PlayStation Vue or SlingTV one is better?

- Tim

What's your biggest binge watching session?

I know I watched all of season 7 of Game of Thrones in one day. Have you had any similar experiences? Were you proud or ashamed of the accomplishment afterwards?

- Bill

Hi guys. When traveling with the fam in my swagger (mini van), the kids use the built in DVD system. Nowadays, movies seem to only come with blue ray and digital code and no longer include the DVD.

Any suggestions on a way to get my movies in the car legally without buying two copies of movies? My swagger does have a hdmi port and a 110v plug. I was using my western digital tv hub, but have since lost the power cord and those are all older movies.

I suppose I could rip the current movies, but was looking for a legal option. Many of the services have offline options such as Vudu, but the kids iPhones have limited storage and won’t hold a full movie, plus vudu limits the amount of devices.

The only other option I could come up with is a cheap blue ray player.

Back in early 2017, I wrote in to tell you about my then-new website for UK cord cutters - CordBusters.co.uk that covers news, guides and tips for local cord cutters.

18 months later, I'm writing in again to tell you (and yeah, boast a little) that Cord Busters is now nominated for an award, as part of the annual UK Money Bloggers conference which will be held in November, as a "Best Specialist Money Blog".

This would never have happened without the inspiration I got from Cord Killers - so thank you for helping me bring the gospel of cord cutting to this side of the pond.